Durham researcher wins North-East Physics Communication award

14 November 2013

A Ph.D. research student at Durham University has won the North-East “3 Minute Wonder” competition, organised by the Institute of Physics.

Guanmei Wang, known to her friends and colleagues as Mona; picked up the award after a very competitive regional final in Durham on Tuesday. Her three minute presentation, entitled “Nanocrystalline Superconductors: How to Contain a Star” wowed the four judges, even prompting one of them to award her ten out of ten.

About her result, Miss Wang said, “Presenting my research in the 3 Minute Wonder competition was a fantastic experience along with meeting many passionate researchers in the world of physics. I am excited about representing the North East in the National Finals, but whatever happens, I'm sure it will be an even more amazing experience!".

Because of her success, Mona will now travel to London next Spring to compete in the National Final, taking on the best Physics communicators from the other regions of the UK.

The hotly contested event saw ten early career researchers presenting their own research, in three minutes, to a select panel of judges, including representatives from the fields of education, academia and industry, with the use of only one visual slide.

Branch Chair, Richard Hornby, commented: “The difficult constraints placed on the candidates – in particular the lack of projected slides and the strict time limit, made presenting their work in an accessible manner really challenging – a challenge which all ten finalists really overcame with great credit.

The variety of presentation techniques used – from simply talking, all the way to models, and carefully sewn 3D particles(!) really showed the diverse ways in which complex science can be presented in an understandable way to the general public.” He added, “The winner deserves great credit to have been able to succeed amongst such an excellent and challenging competition